Deep in the Brush Country
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DEEP IN THE BRUSH COUNTRY:"Summer Evening Conversations" Before he ran the Park Hotel in Falfurrias and then became a dairyman and farmer, Uncle Joe worked as a ranch hand in South Texas and also herded horses and mules from one location to another for ranchers. He carried a bed roll and slept wherever he was at nightfall. One night back when Oakville,Texas was a county seat he stopped there to spend the night on the courthouse grounds. A prisoner called from a jail window and asked for a cigarette. Uncle Joe gave him one and lit it. Early the next morning Uncle Joe woke up to noises of voices and much commotion -- the courtyard was full of people. When Uncle Joe asked why so many people were there he was told, "There is going to be a hanging." Joe had given a last cigarette to the fellow that was hung. DEEP IN THE BRUSH COUNTRY: "Auntie" Auntie lived her life convinced that the United States was the best place in the world -- other countries weren't safe or sanitary or as honorable. She refused to cross the Rio Grande and go to Mexico. When my husband and I planned a trip out of the country she tried to discourage it and finally gave us toilet seat covers to take along. I still have them unopened for a keepsake that was truly in character for Auntie. She was a real patriot and took offence at any criticism of the United States. She never forgave Jimmy Carter for, "Giving away the Panama Canal." DEEP IN THE BRUSH COUNTRY: "Frank Graham, Retired Ranch Foreman" Frank recalled stories of some eccentric ranchers. There were those who were frugal and miserly. With one, serving molasses to the cowboys was forbidden because they ate too much pan de campo (campbread.) Others could be crude like the fellow who kept his bubble gum behind his ear while he ate.
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About the Book
Take a journey deep into South Texas, where Lucille Thomas Kruse grows up as a young girl in Falfurrias during the 1920s and 1930s.
The Thomas family’s fate is determined when Grandfather Thomas moves all his belongings and farm animals, including his beehives, to Falfurrias in an immigrant railroad car. In letters from 1907, he praises the lush and fertile land with fl owing artesian water.
It also turns out to be a great place to grow up, and Kruse recalls life as it used to be—exploring the farm she grew up on where she rode horses and found adventure around every corner. When she became a teenager, excitement consisted of climbing onto the roof of the courthouse or trying to outrun a jackrabbit in a car.
Kruse also recalls her sophisticated city relatives who streamed in to visit and experience the family farm. Eccentric ranchers, older folks who remember battling Indians and hunters who rely on their hound dogs to go on wolf hunts all fi gure into this historical account.
See how life used to be and discover a forgotten piece of America as you venture Deep in the Brush Country.
About the Author
Lucille Thomas Kruse is a native of Falfurrias, Texas, the setting of Deep in the Brush Country. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and taught in the Episcopal School in Kingsville, Texas, where she continues to live. She regularly writes “remembrances” for her hometown newspaper, FALFURRIAS FACTS.